Mani dubs case against him ‘politically motivated’

Idukki (Ker): Unfazed by criminal charges him over his controversial speech of party eliminating its foes in the past, CPI-M Idukki district secretary M M Mani on Sunday said the party would resist the "politically motivated" moves of the UDF government to frame him in a criminal case.

Reacting to Mani`s defiant posture, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the stand of the CPI-M leader amounted to challenging the rule of law.

After avoiding media for the last few days since the police registered a case against him, an assertive Mani said after a district committee meeting of the party that he would face the case "foisted" on him legally and politically.

Mani also hit back at BJP leader and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for criticising CPI-M, picking on his speech made at Thodupuzha last week. "Modi has no moral right to criticise me....," he said.

Even as Mani assumed a strident posture, the uneasiness in the LDF came to fore with CPI state secretary Panniyan Raveendran voicing serious reservations over Mani`s utterances.
"A communist is a humanist. A communist cannot say that a list of enemies can be prepared and go on killing them one by one," the CPI leader told a television channel.

In a rejoinder to Raveendran`s remarks, Mani said the CPI need not meddle in CPI-M`s affairs.

Mani also refuted reports in a section of media that he had gone on hiding after police registered a case against him. On the notice issued by a Special Investigation Team probing the case asking him to appear before them on June 6, he said a decision would be taken after consulting legal experts.

Police had registered a case against Mani last week on charges of murder, abetment and concealing information based on his speech at Thodupuzha.
PTI